Too painful...

strikerrocket

Sorry to say that, but I ditched Retropie just yesterday. I tried it because I had read good things about it, but it is just too time consuming to just get it to run about correctly.
Just a few of the issues I encountered, which, IMHO, are way too unacceptable for a system that is so old and supposed to be mature.

To connect WIFI, I HAD TO create the wpa_supplicant.conf file, otherwise, IMPOSSIBLE to connect to my WIFI network! Configuration using the menus would NOT work in any way. Navigating through the text menus is not a problem for me, but I have a WQHD monitor (MSI MAG274QRF-QD) and scaling renders the fonts soooo small...
Also, there seems to be several places where to configure WIFI. What first? Configure locale for WIFI? What's next? Configure WIFI in the raspi-config menu or in the emulator frontend,
-Next, I changed resolution to a lower one, ie. 1080p, then I could not see the menus when launching raspi-config or any other text based tool! Great!

I spent the whole afternoon trying to get it to work, however, I've reached an age where I don't have time to tinker like that and scratch my head uselessly to find solutions to problems that should not exist.

Just for fun, try RECALBOX... just to experience the difference in how easy it is to get it to work in just a few minutes...

So long RETROPIE, maybe some other time when you get your stuff sorted out...

Edit: I know Linux, I used to recompile the kernel customized for my specific machines, but this is too much...

MrPacMan17

@strikerrocket said in Too painful...:

Edit: I know Linux, I used to recompile the kernel customized for my specific machines, but this is too much

Just my two cents: Recalbox serves a different type of end user than Retropie. I myself ran Recalbox for some months but didn’t like it. Too much is nailed shut, while Retropie allows customizations as much one wants/needs.

Using Retropie may be overwhelming at first but once the first steps are made, it works awesome. And yes, good reading is required ( Read The Friendly Manual). But when one does, it works very well. Even without taking a deep dive. One can use Retropie for plug & play, or one can take a dive just as deep as one wants/needs/requires.

However, when you have recompiled kernels, configuring wifi should be a walk in the park. But it comes down to reading the manuals, it is all there. The community for Retropie has put a lot of time and effort in it. And it shows.

But again, it depends on what one wants, needs and requires. When one is okay with a closed ecosystem like Recalbox, it’s okay. When one wants the ability to tinker, run Retropie.

And to be frank, the tinkering with Retropie is something I like even more than ‘just’ playing a game.

And please, don’t read this as flaming nor bashing. I appreciate your posting. I only try to add more context to it.

mahoneyt944

I'm actually surprised wifi made the complaints list. This seemed to me to be one of the easiest things to setup in the grand scheme of retropie initial setup. As I recall, you set your country first in raspi-config, then setting up wifi was as easy as scan for networks, type in password, connected. If you're making a custom config somewhere outside of the provided menus that's probably your issue. If for some reason your network is special or unique in some way then that's a issue outside of retropie. There's so many resources available to fix any issue you would ever come into. All you need is to search, and if you still don't know....ask.

RamenRaiderY95

@mahoneyt944 I agree... WIFI was never something that I had trouble configuring on a PI based build. Instead of giving up, I would have tried posting here first to gather some community input and possibly get some assistance with configuration support. It's quite possible something wasn't set up right during the first boot configuration, as I've NEVER had to mess with the wpa_supplicant.conf file. I know that if you don't change the default keyboard from UK to US, it will break some special characters that may be required to enter a WIFI password, but that's not what is going on here. Maybe this was a 3rd party image and/or the incorrect build for the device in use.

To each his own, though. I'd rather put in the time to get something customized to my liking. I think that both Recalbox and Lakka lack the customizability I would want for any project.

FroyoXSG

It's always easier to blame it on the user, but the official docs should probably instruct users to set up a wifikeyfile.txt before step 5 and link to the Wifi Guide. Seeing as how you can already use most of RetroPie without a keyboard and entering passwords will be tricky if your country does not use QWERTY keyboards by default.

IanDaemon

@froyoxsg I didn't do anything (over here in the U.S.)...really. Things just work "out of the box" with RetroPie. (slight setup necessary as is the case with...everything)

mahoneyt944

I don't recall if the password was hidden or not when entering it (ex: *******), but I know my keyboard is not setup perfectly for every key either and I've managed to get it going just fine.

Again, I think asking for some help here instead of throwing guess work at it could have saved some frustration. Retropie can be very complex until you really get to know it. Once you do, you realize what you were doing wrong on your first go around. That said, retropie is a on going development and flawed in some cases. It's a free product.

Most times the solution is easier than you think and likely someone else has already encountered and solved said issue.

YFZdude

Being from the U.S., the only time I ran into trouble was when the image updated to default to a UK English keyboard layout. My @ or something similar (Shift + <a key>) combo became something else until I changed my keyboard to the right type.